Object: Cradle

E/1959/9/1
Beaded Cradle
Kiowa
North America: Plains
ca 1930
Materials: hide, wood, glass beads

This object is a beaded cradle board that was made by Mrs. Ahpeatoni, a Kiowa woman from Mountain View, Oklahoma. In typical Plains cradle fashion, this is a handmade wooden frame decorated with buckskin and glass beads. Along with the Kiowa tribe, many other tribes of the Plains region created cradleboards for their infants. Many of these tribes traditionally lived nomadic lifestyles, cradleboards provided protection for the baby’s head and neck during travel and made the infants easier to carry while the mother worked during the day. The cradle could be worn as a backpack, or hung from a tree or tipi pole. According to elders, the cradles were constructed upright to help the baby see adults at eye level and helped to socialize the baby.

Kiowa cradleboards are often made using a V-shaped frame made of two long pieces of wood. Men made the wooden frames for the cradles, and female family members made the buckskin pouch and beaded the exterior as a gift for the expecting mother. Kiowa cradles are often beaded in both floral and geometric motifs in many bright colors. This particular cradle’s beadwork is sewn with a “lazy stitch“ style. The history of the term “lazy stitch” is explained here. Despite the age of this cradle, the vivid colors of the beadwork are still visible and attest to the rich and lavish artistry. Beaded cradles are still made today by contemporary artists and they continue to be a symbol of pride and traditional culture.

Below is a short video showing a Northern Paiute version of a cradleboard and how the infants would be traditionally wrapped into a cradleboard.

[Alana Cox]

Object: Tie slide

E/2001/1/4
Tie Slide
Kiowa
North America: Plains
mid-20th Century
Materials: German silver (aka Nickel silver)

This German silver tie slide was made by the prolific Oklahoma artist and metal worker George “Dutch” Silverhorn. Dutch Silverhorn was a member of the Kiowa tribe and learned metalworking from his father. Many members of the Silverhorn family are acclaimed artists and crafts people, including the ledger artist Silverhorn, Kiowa Five painter Stephen Mopope, and beadworker Katherine Dickerson. Continuing his family’s artistic tradition, Dutch was also a painter and a carver, producing mainly objects related to the Native American Church.

Historic image of Native American wearing German silver conchos

German silver, also sometimes called nickel silver, is an alloy or combination of copper, nickel and zinc. Nickel silver first became popular as a base metal for silver plated cutlery and is still used today in zippers, keys, costume jewellery, musical instruments, and coins. German silver jewelry and metalworking has also been an extremely popular art form in Native American communities for centuries. The earliest examples of Native American metalwork were made by pounding coins and European style cookware flat, then cutting and forming the metal into jewelry. In the late 1800s the first sheets of German silver began to reach the plains tribes. These sheets were quickly put to use for jewelry making. Countless examples of German silver conchos, belt buckles, tie slides, earrings and more can be found in museums and throughout the native community today.

Here is a video (part 4 of 15) that shows some of the tools and techniques used to make this type of German silver jewelry.

[Kathryn S. (Barr) McCloud]

Object: Basket

E/1954/19/10

Armadillo Basket
North America
20th Century
Materials: Armadillo shell

This basket is made from the shell of a nine-banded armadillo. The back of the armadillo forms the body of the basket and the looped tail forms the handle. The nine-banded armadillo is the only North American species of armadillo. Prior to 1850, the nine-banded armadillo was not found north of the Rio Grande river. In the past 150 years, however, armadillo populations have increased greatly in southern portions of the United States, and members of the species have been spotted as far north as Illinois. Armadillos generally live in temperate climates due to the lack of body fat and insulation against the cold. They are the only living mammals with shells and they subsist on insects, plants, and fruit.

The armadillo basket was popularized in the early 20th century by basketmaker Charles Apelt. Baskets, such as this one, were first displayed at the World’s Fair in 1902 and were an instant hit. Charles Apelt started the first armadillo farm in the United States and raised the animals for commercial purposes, producing baskets, lampshades, and smoker stands for tourists and collectors until the 1970s. Armadillo shells have also been used in other countries to make utility objects like musical instruments and food containers.

What do you think about this basket? Share your thoughts and enjoy getting to know the Story Behind the Object!

[Lauren Simons]

Object: Utility Basket

E/1982/11/284
Modoc Tribe: Utility Basket
North America
20th Century
Materials: Cattail, Twine

This basket is from the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma. The Modoc Tribe was a small band located along what is now the California-Oregon border. They were primarily engaged in hunting, fishing, and gathering though evidence of a less nomadic lifestyle exists in the remains of subterranean houses along the coast. They are probably most recognized for the resistance efforts of Captain Jack, a Modoc warrior who, with only 60 men, held off hundreds of US Army troops for several months during the mid 1800′s. Captain Jack was eventually captured and hanged, and the Modoc were relocated to a reservation in northeastern Oklahoma in the 1870′s. Baskets such as this one were initially used for gathering and collecting food items, though by time the tribe was relocated, Modoc basketry was produced primarily for trade and sale.

This basket is an example of the kinds of containers that were made from natural materials like tule and cattail. On this basket, the plaiting forms a checkerwork pattern with strips of black- and yellow-dyed cattail. The warp and weft are woven at right angles to form the body of the basket (see figure). The rim of the basket consists of four braids, and braided cords of cattail are attached to each side for handles.

Basketry was central to the Modoc way of life. In addition to utility uses, basketry served ceremonial and religious purposes. In fact, one Modoc creation story centers on a basket used by the creator “Kumush” to carry spirit bones from the underworld and create tribes on earth. Baskets were also used ceremonially in events commemorating marriages, births, and deaths. Baskets like this one would have been used to gather food sources like huckleberries, sugar pine seeds, wild onions, and camas. The camas root was a staple food for peoples of the American northwest. The bulbs were harvested only when the plant was flowering because its blue petals distinguished it from the “Death Camas”—a similar, but poisonous, plant with white flowers. The camas root was prepared much like a yam or sweet potato and recipes are still in use today!

Learn more about Modoc basketry or check out language projects to hear soundbytes and get to know the Story Behind the Object! [Lauren  Simons]

Object: Necklace

NAM-09-06-304
Choker (Necklace)

Collected among the Cheyenne, Western Oklahoma, USA
September 1883–September 1885
Materials: Glass Seed Beads, Horse Hair, Leather

Not all objects found in museum collections are in a condition suitable for traditional exhibition. This necklace, or “choker,” fragment is a useful example of a piece that would likely never be included in a public exhibition due to its fragile state; however, here we are able to highlight its importance to SNOMNH’s collections and use it as a vehicle for discussion on a variety of subjects.

This style choker was at one time worn by both women and men from a wide distribution of tribes found in the Midwest, specifically the around the Great Lakes and in Prairie (Eastern Plains) region. The technique used to create this choker is called side-stitch. This is a hand-woven, or more precisely “oblique interlacing” technique of beadwork that creates diagonal rows. This particular choker was constructed using black horse hair—a material that was later replaced by commercially available threads. The use of horse hair in its construction and the subsequent use by the donor’s family as a plaything have contributed to the current condition of this object.

In 1973, a collection of American Indian objects were donated to SNOMNH (formerly the Stovall Museum) by Mrs. John Surr, daughter of Dr. Vernon W. Stiles. Dr. Stiles worked for the Indian Traders, Hemphill and Way, at the Darlington Indian Agency, Indian Territory, between September 1883 and 7 September 1885. During his two-year employment as a salesman, Dr. Stiles had the opportunity to meet and trade with many Cheyenne and Arapahos in the local Native community. It was during this time that the choker came into Dr. Stiles’s possession.

Knowledge of where an object was acquired and who collected it can create inaccurate identification because the person who last owned an object was often not its maker. In fact, trade in objects was, and continues to be, a very common practice between Native peoples. Because this choker was collected among the Cheyenne and donated along with other items identifiable as Cheyenne material, it was labeled “Cheyenne.” As mentioned earlier, this style choker was common to a wide distribution of tribes; however, the Cheyenne were not among this group. It is possible that the choker was acquired in trade from another tribe, or perhaps, someone from another tribe married into a Cheyenne family bringing this piece or the construction technique with them. It is also quite possible that a Cheyenne beadworker learned this beadwork technique and produced it themselves, which would make the “Cheyenne” label accurate. Without any further information on who exactly made the choker it is impossible to say with certainty from which tribe this object originated.

To learn more about this style of choker, see Georg J. Barth (1993:145-158) and David Dean (2002) for details on the side-stitch technique. Also see Gaylord Torrence (1989:16) on the use of side-stitch chokers. For more information on the Cheyenne and Arapaho, see here or for more information about the Darlington Indian Agency see here.

SNOMNH invites your comments on this choker or any of the other topics addressed above. [John P. Lukavic]

Object: Parfleche

NAM-9-6-204
Cheyenne Parfleche

Southern Cheyenne
West Central Oklahoma
Late 19th – early 20th century
Media: Rawhide, Pigments

This parfleche is decorated in typical Southern Cheyenne style. Reds, yellows and greens were the most prominent colors used by makers in painting parfleches. Originally these pigments were made from natural mineral deposits. Small pieces of porous buffalo bone were used to apply the paint. Note that the designs on the parfleche are outlined in thin brownish-black lines. This is another Southern Cheyenne feature. This pigment was made by mixing buffalo blood with burnt grass. Parfleches provided storage, fulfilling the same role that suitcases and plastic containers do today. The nomadic Southern Cheyenne needed durable containers that could stand up to the rigors of moving camp. Rawhide is both a durable and waterproof material. Envelopes, like this one, were the most common form among the Cheyenne. However they also produced flat and cylindrical cases. Parfleches were used to store a wide variety of materials, including clothing and food. [Michael P. Jordan]

Object: Moccasins

E/1953/8/73
Moccasins

Southern Cheyenne
West Central Oklahoma
Early 20th Century
Materials: Cowhide, Rawhide, Sinew, Glass Beads

These moccasins are constructed in the two-piece style. Each moccasin consists of a soft leather upper sewn to a stiff rawhide sole. The beaded design on the vamps of these moccasins is referred to as the tipi door design. It was used on girls and women’s moccasins. This pair exhibits a number of features commonly found on Cheyenne moccasins. For example, the heal seam does not extend to the top of the ankle flaps, creating a v shaped gap where the flaps meet. Cheyenne women were extremely selective about the beads they used. They preferred to use small beads in their beadwork. Even within a single lot there was frequently significant variation in the quality of the beads. Consequently, the beadworkers would often sort through the beads, selecting only those that exhibited uniform color, shape and size and culling inferior quality beads. [Michael P. Jordan]

Object: Beaded Pouch

NAM-9-6-331
Beaded Pouch
Southern Cheyenne
West Central Oklahoma
Late 19th Century
Materials: Hide, Glass Seed Beads

This pouch is made from the toe portion of a Southern Cheyenne moccasin. Note the distinctive shape. The beaded design on this pouch is similar to the decoration on a pair of beaded moccasins in the museum’s collection. Members of the Cheyenne community who viewed the pouch identified the beaded design as the “tipi door,” a design used to decorate the vamp on women’s moccasins. The reverse side of the pouch is not beaded. Materials from worn out objects were occasionally recycled in the production of new items. For example, rawhide moccasin soles were sometimes cut out of old parfleches. Evidence of this practice exists in the painted designs on the soles of some moccasins in museum collections. [Michael P. Jordan]